Giving Back

• North American Lake Management Society / California Lake Management Society NALMS forge partnerships among citizens, scientists, and professionals to foster the management and protection of lakes and reservoirs.
• Tuleyome is a volunteer advocacy-oriented nonprofit organization that is focused on protecting both the wild and agricultural heritages of the Inner Coastal Range and the Western Sacramento Valley.
• Putah Creek Council is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Putah Creek and its tributaries through advocacy, education and community-based stewardship.
• Yolo Basin Foundation is the communication link between the many people and organizations involved in creating wetlands and managing land in the Yolo Bypass. The Foundation is dedicated to the appreciation and stewardship of wetlands and wildlife through education and innovative partnerships.
• The Sierra Fund is a community foundation that serves the Sierra Nevada region of California, particularly working to address the legacy of historic mining in California.
• Water Education Foundation is an impartial, nonprofit organization in California whose mission is to create a better understanding of water resources and foster public understanding and resolution of water resource issues through facilitation, education and outreach.
• The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

MEI supports the following local, regional, national, and international programs through free or subsidized labor and in-kind services.

• Tuleyome Dr. McCord serves as President of the Board of Directors, providing strategic planning, fundraising and technical support.
• California Lake Management Society Dr. McCord is an at-large member and past President. He serves on volunteer teams to produce technical webinars, publish an annual newsletter, and organize the annual conference.  He is a Subject Area Expert and a Certified Lake Manager for the “parent” organization NALMS. In 2017 he was awarded the Secchi Disk Award for Excellence by CALMS and in 2018 he was awarded the Leadership and Service Award by NALMS. He also serves on the NALMS Professional Certification Program oversight committee.
• Clean Water Help Dr. McCord is President of the Board of Directors for this new international nonprofit focused on improving water quality conditions in impoverished communities worldwide.
• Putah Creek Council Dr. McCord served as Chair and Treasurer of the Board of Directors for over a decade, leading community members to be more knowledgeable and engaged stewards of their local creek and its watershed.
• Guardian Scholars Dr. McCord has served as a mentor working to best meet the academic and personal needs of former foster youth enrolled at UC Davis to maximize their educational opportunities. View a brief video by Dr. McCord’s former mentee, Chemical Engineering graduate Josh Croft.
• Fulbright Program Dr. McCord has been a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Haiti and Chile, collaborating with local partners to improve their watersheds. He has served for over a decade as an external peer reviewer for new specialist applicants. Dr. McCord also serves as a peer adviser and host family for Humphrey Fellows.
• Engineers Without Borders, UC Davis Student Chapter. MEI is a corporate sponsor and Dr. McCord serves as the Responsible Engineer in Charge for the Peru project. He served as a Travel Mentor to Bolivia in 2023.
• UC Davis, Civil & Envir. Engr. senior design project sponsor and reviewer. Dr. McCord has sponsored student groups developing engineering solutions for real-world water quality problems. See the 2018 course’s final reports on mercury control studies for reservoirs: UCD_ECI193_2018_Mercury Control Studies
• External Reviewer for the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences for master’s theses in the School of Engineering.
• Citizen Advisory Committee member supporting development of the Solano Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

Dr. McCord is a Research Associate at the University of California Davis. He also has advised several students in their research projects, including:

• Mark Seelos, PhD  in Environmental Systems at UC Merced studying mercury cycling in reservoirs, wetland sediments, and plankton communities.

• Gerardo Martinez, MS in Civil & Envir. Engr. at UC Davis studying mercury contamination in the Amazon basin from illegal gold mining.

• Luke Salvato and Christy Tanner, PhD research projects on mercury cycling in rice fields, funded by the Rice Research Board.

• Atley Keller, MS in Natural Resources Water Conflict Mgt. at Oregon State Univ. studying policy options for addressing California’s abandoned mines.

• Thalles Perdigão Lima, MS in Environmental Technology at Escola Superior Agrária de Bragança in Portugal studying adsorption  of odorous gaseous pollutants on carbonaceous materials prepared from agroindustrial biomass.